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Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent
AN elderly Rusape woman and her younger ex live-in boyfriend last week locked horns at a community court, with the woman demanding compensation from him after he deserted her following a four-month stay at her rented house.
Violet Chikodziro, a widow, claimed that Washington Mutwira, who was jobless at the time, stayed with her after promising to marry her.
However, as soon as his employment contract was renewed, he vanished into thin air.
“l stayed with Mutwira for four months at my lodgings in Vengere. He told me that he had separated with his wife after she had cheated on him. I informed him that I am a widow and also introduced him to my sisters since he had promised to marry me.
“He also introduced me to some of his relatives, including his parents, and informed them that he wanted to settle down with me. I accommodated him because he had promised to marry me. He was jobless and I provided everything during the course of our relationship,” said Chikodziro.
She said their relationship turned soured when she stumbled upon romantic messages in his phone and confronted him.
“I later stumbled upon several love messages in his phone, but he denied cheating on me. He later admitted having a relationship with another woman whom he said had a child with.
“He got abusive and blamed me for disturbing his marriage and wasting his time.
“I am hurt by what he did to me. He lied to me and I had to take care of him when he was jobless. His promise to marry me was fake,” said the distraught woman.
However, Mutwira denied ever promising to marry her. He said she was a sex worker and he would pay for her services each time they got intimate.
“I met this granny on February 14 this year. I was told that she is a sex worker. The first day I visited her home, I paid her US$10 for her services.
“She was satisfied with my performance in bed and offered me to extend my stay at her house. She, however, started introducing me to her visitors as her husband.
“I told her I was on separation with my wife. I never promised to marry her. She is way older than me. I cannot marry her because she has grandchildren.
“It is not true that I stayed at her house for free. I also provided for my upkeep, for instance, I purchased electricity for the whole month of March,” Mutwira told the court.
In his ruling, Chief Makoni found Mutwira guilty of promising to marry the woman, but later changing goalposts.
The court also chastised him for denigrating the woman by calling her granny and a loose woman.
“Mutwira, you are not so clever as you want to appear. You were jobless and you hoodwinked this woman by promising to marry her so that she could take care of you.
“You were fully aware of her age and continued with the affair. You cannot now label her ‘granny’ in this court. You were not blind when you proposed love to her and stayed at her house. You are disrespectful and inconsiderate.
“For breaking the marriage promise and being accommodated by her, you have to compensate her with one beast or US$350. The court also fines you three goats,” ruled Chief Makoni.
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